Brunello Cucinelli brand - Essay Example

affiliation taught by . s Executive Summary The main purpose of this research is to provide detailed investigation and analysis of Brunello Cucinelli brand. Basically, the study will focus on the strength of the brand identity and its nexus with the target customers. In order to receive the most accurate and relevant information, a number of analysis methods will be applied (Cucinelli, 2002). First and foremost, the study will perform the analysis of the retail environment as well as customer experience; for this purpose the emphasis will be made on the 4P’s components – product, price, place and promotion. The outcomes of the analysis will determine the factors which are the most influential for the overall performance of the brand, and the manner to which they contribute to the success of the company (Aardewijn, 2015). Taking into consideration the scope and the specification of the brand, it is essential to assess the constituents of the business and to examine their direct interaction and interference. In this case, the research will take a glance at the brief history of the brand, underlining the key moments that contributed to growth and maturity of the company and its performance. SWOT analysis will be conducted to outline the positive and negative factors of Brunello Cucinelli brand, its present state as well as prospects in terms of the nearest future. The study will present the summary of the strengths, weaknesses, threats and opportunities of the brand in order to underline the perspectives as well as the cornerstones of Brunello Cucinelli company (Ind, 2007). For the thorough brand analysis to be accomplished, it is important to investigate the directions, views and goals of the company; in this respect the study will focus on the target customer and draw the pen portrait of an average brand client. In addition, primary research will be conducted to provide the most accurate and faithful data. Due to the fact, that there are certain constraints in the context of the time and personal interviews with the leaders of the company, the secondary information will be taken into account and analyzed to get the full picture. The retail industry has its marketing peculiarities; thus, retail environment, place and promotion components, in particular, will be discussed. Relatively, the price and product components will be investigated as the main parts of the product overview; their influence on the brand profitability and identity will be estimated (LaRocca, 2015). Distribution is one of the core elements of any successful business and the way the product is passed to the customer is a significant aspect, which plays an important part in the overall picture. The research will critically evaluate the current distribution strategy being chosen. Consequently, the key figures in the annual report can provide the numerical evaluation of the brand’s performance; the study will lean upon the statistics and comparative data to get the relevant information about the revenues of the company; the numbers will indicate how retail environment, brand image, distribution strategy and all the components of the marketing mix contribute to the brand situation. The conclusions will indicate the correctness of the brand’s chosen direction in the context of all available dimensions (LaRocca, 2015). Table of Contents Executive Summary……………………………………………………………………..2 Section A. Introduction…………………………………………………………………6 Research Design …………………………………………………………………….…6 An Introduction to the Brand ………………………………………………………….7 SWOT Analysis . ………………………………………………………………………7 The Target Consumer. The Portrait…………………………………………………….8 Section B. Retail Environment (Place and Promotion)…………………………………9 Product Overview (Price and Product)………………………………………………….9 Distribution Strategy……………………………………………………………………10 Interview With the Target Group………………………………………………………11 Section C. Research Conclusions……………………………………………………….12 Section D. Final Conclusions……………………………………………………………15 References……………………………………………………………………………….18 List of Figures Table 1. The Brunello Cucinelli Pricing Policy……………………………………………9 Table 2. Brunello Cucinelli Brand’s Sales Rates and Percentage of Growth……………..12 Table 3. Brands Comparative Analysis……………………………………………………15 Figure 1. The Brunello Cucinelli Magazine Advertisement……………………………….16 Figure 2. Brunello Cuccinelli Organizational Chart……………………………………….17 Section A. Introduction Italian retail industry occupies a special position within the global market. Walking hand-in-hand with the French fashion, the retail sphere is presented with the well-known names and brands familiar to millions of people; luminaries of the fashion business keep on pleasing the devoted clients as well as attracting new generations of customers from different corners of the Earth. Among the myriad of the brands, Brunello Cuccinelli managed to create his own niche and take a special place in regard to the company’s corporate culture, philosophy, values, product and services quality and as a result – customer loyalty and overall brand image (LaRocca, 2015). Brunello Cucinelli is known to the public as a king of cashmere. The path chosen at the primary stage of the development has cemented the humanistic groundings into the philosophy of the company. To perform the accurate analysis of the case study, the researcher will base on the theoretical knowledge and skills in terms of the marketing mix, marketing strategies and methods of analysis, supported by the practical information about the brand, collected from primary and secondary information. Marketing efforts are intended to establish a solid image of the brand, to form the reputation to be passed through the years; the approaches applied are specific for each business and greatly depend on the internal and external factors, which form the certain environment for the company (LaRocca, 2015). Research Design The aim of this research is to provide the most accurate and faithful information concerning the brand, its image, and its perception within the clients minds. In this respect, the study will use the primary and the secondary data, to form the full representation of the current situation for the brand and make forecasts towards the probable perspective of the brand and its overall performance. Primary information will be collected with the help of the survey, conducted with the target group. The secondary information is presented by the published interviews with the leaders of the company, as well as the articles and the annual reports (MacInnis, 2009). An Introduction to the Brand The brand Brunello Cucinelli was established in early 1978 in Solomeo, one of the most beautiful and picturesque places of Italy – Umbrian village. Basically, the rich historical heritage of this place has greatly inspired the corporate vision. The company is famed for its best quality cashmere products. The brand positions itself as the representative of the exclusive luxury-casual fashion. In 2013, the company generated approximately 323 million Euros in sales, and the ratios display considerable growth on an annual basis. About one-half of the revenues generated by the brand are created by the wholesale channel, however, the company pays significant attention to the retail channel, in the number of more than 115 stores (MacInnis, 2009). SWOT Analysis Strengths The brand identity is implied in the high quality of the products; the uniqueness of the brand is embodied in the blend of the classical perception of the clothing united with the casual; Promotional activities are based on the emotional branding techniques with the help of the strong visual merchandising approaches applied towards all the points of retail; Weaknesses Brunello Cucinelli is still deemed as the brand considerably unknown for the majority of the European consumers There are certain issues considering the finding of the representative locations on the territory of the Europe in order to establish mono-brand shops; The promotional strategy of Brunello Cucinelli brand is not expanded; Opportunities The potential partner countries are undergoing recovery from the stiff credit crisis, provided new opportunities and chances for the brand to expand; The global retail trends display much more exposedness to the boutique manner; specialized shops and brands style opens the doors for the Brunello Cucinelli brand to open mono-brand shop as a shift from the wholesale to retail industry; Craftsmanship-based, unique brands market with high-quality products are more attractive for the luxury consumers; In terms of the competitiveness and the cashmere manufacturing, the brand has positive perspective for the business expansion. Threats Constant research and estimation are required in order to make predictions and planning towards the expansion prospects in context of the countries, facing economic fluctuations; Research in terms of national and cultural trends is to be conducted due to the fact, that the male consumer might not be ready for the outfit style, offered by Brunello Cucinelli brand (Valenta, 2015). The Target Consumer. The Portrait The target customer of Brunello Cucinelli brand is between 28-45 years of age, confident, ambitious, successful and adventurous male, who is fashion-conscious. His revenue is rather a high scale; the workplace is public relations, advertising or marketing sphere. He is an urban area dweller, sometimes perfectionist and ambitious. The client is sociable and active, likes being outdoors and attend occasions. The Brunello Cucinelli is a bit egocentric; aesthetic nature makes him love good wine and food. Luxurious yet relaxed – the most appropriate brief description of the target client. Section B. Retail Environment (Place and Promotion) Brunello Cucinelli retail shops are characterized with the variety of size; prior the cooperation is finalized, the retail point is thoroughly screened. This measure is taken to make sure the shops are consistent with the brand’s values and style in all dimensions – the employees, location and visual merchandising (Valenta, 2015). In terms of promotion, the commercial form is absolutely inappropriate for the brand. No benefit is gained from the website, radio or TV commercials; the brand recognition is generally created by the word of mouth inside its niche. Photography campaign is a starting point for the each collection season, the majority of the advertisements are presented by high-quality beautiful landscape photography, accompanied by the philosopher-inspired quote in magazines such as Vogue Uomo and Esquire and the magazines connected to the luxury hotels or resorts to attract the target audience (Four Season Magazine). The idyllic scenery on the ads are intended to make emphasis on the natural beauty, and the collection presented is just a compliment to this beauty (Valenta, 2015). Product Overview (Price and Product) The price range of the brand is applied to the market of the Western Europe; the prices presented in the table below are the price for the consumer, it contains Value Added Tax. Table 1. The Brunello Cucinelli Pricing Policy Source: Brunello Cucinelli Annual Report, 2014 The collections are developed twice a year, for summer and winter seasons. The brand advocates casual chique style; the clothing is provided with the traditional Italian scent, it is comfortable, easy to wear and is made of luxurious materials, which are pure cashmere, or its blends. Basically, the materials chosen depend on the season. Apart from the clothing, the Cuccinelli product range contains an array of the accessories – luggage and bags, shoes, mobile phone covers, socks, ties or even swimming trunks. Thus, a Cuccinelli customer is empowered to find his own combination and style for all occasions (Plunkett, 2004). Distribution Strategy The collections of the Brunello Cucinelli brand is mainly hand-made produced in Italy, with the help of the Solomeo prerequisites or when needed are finished in neighboring villages. The collection consists of the two portions to be delivered to the retailer; the first one contains fashionable items and some basics; the second one has the majority basics and is accompanied by the actual collection (Plunkett, 2004). The retailer obtains the shipment after the payment is done; the shipments are conducted by air freight right to the distribution center. Afterward, the collection is passed to the retail points. The distribution chosen by Brunello Cuccinelli brand is well-verified and appropriate in terms of the high-quality service at all the levels as well as addressing the target customer. The distribution process can hardly contain malfunctions or mistakes due to the accurate checking system in Solomeo as well as its global agencies. The packaging and storage are executed with the help of the appropriate packaging, which assists in keeping the garments in the best state, on arriving overseas, the steaming is performed by Cuccinelli staff (Plunkett, 2004). Interview With the Target Group As the source of primary data, an interview was held with the four male customers. All of them corresponded to the portrait of the brand customer, being ambitious, entrepreneurial and fashion-minded. The focus group ranged between 25-34 years of age. The four man had different customer experience and various levels of awareness in terms of the brand, ranging from loyal client to the one, never heard and interfered with the brand. All the participants were questioned about the styling of the brand collection; the outcomes of the questionnaire indicated, that 100 percent of the interviewees admitted the understated luxury and care about the products. The statements, that received the highest number of points were as follows: – The garments are combine-able; – The garments are classy and comfortable; – The collection expensiveness does add the value; – Buying the brand product means investing in timeless high-quality product; – The brand is recommended to expand, creating mono-brand stores; – Presenting the production into lower density would be favorable for the image of the boutique. Section C. Research Conclusions The brand image is a complex phenomenon, which consists of a great number of strategies, approaches, and measurements. Each tool applied is intended for the brand to occupy the special place within the mind of the customers as well as to create its own niche within the competitive market. To win the hearts of the customers is just the beginning, the hardest task is to retain the customers and to sustain the competitive advantage (Rinaldi, n.d.). For less than forty years of its existence, the Cucinelli brand has developed a unique philosophy, grounded on naturalness, beauty, and the best quality, provided through all the levels of production, from the collection creation up to the services of the retail points (Schroeder, 2006). The analysis of the production process, the strategies and policies applied represent the qualitative data; the information collected from the interviews and the official site of the brand provides rather the descriptive data and its nature is considerably abstract. In terms of brand image assessment, the research requires quantitative data, which is to be taken from the annual Reports (MacInnis, 2009). This data contains concrete ratios concerning the sales rates and the percentage of growth in a context of the last several years, which is the best evidence of the appropriateness of the chosen strategies. The Figures are as follows: Table 2. Brunello Cucinelli Brand’s Sales Rates and Percentage of Growth Source: Brunello Cucinelli Annual Reports, 2011-2014. The figure presented above indicates the process of gradual and confident growth of sales during the period of 2011 up till the end of 2014. The growth percentage in the first period made up 15,1 percent, during the period of 2013-2014 the same percentage was somewhat lower, it made up 10,4 percent (LaRocca, 2015). However, looking at the actual performance, it is essential to admit, that the company is characterized with the strong brand image, which creates the premises for the company to increase its sales ratios. The marketing strategies chosen are appropriate for a brand to attract the luxury audience and to retain the existing one. The brand shows appropriate concentration in terms of target segment; applying the correct strategies and approaches in the context of advertising greatly influenced the reputation of the brand, which is implied in being luxury yet relaxed, chique yet comfortable. The best quality is not subject to compromise (Aardewijn, 2015). Section D. Final Conclusions Thus, the Brunello Cucinelli brand is a perfect example of the appropriateness and sensitivity in reaching the desired goals. The company indicated, that the paradigm of the business is cemented on the primary stage of the brand development when everything starts with the idea. The brand image is a complex system, with hundreds of mechanism, working for the common result (Ind, 2007). In a case of Cuccinelli brand, the highest quality is embodied not only in the product line itself, it goes far beyond to the customer services, distribution, packaging and all the other operations. The customer, especially the luxury segment, is considerably susceptible in terms of sincerity, and the desire to present the best product and this is exactly what Cuccinelli brand is successful at (Valenta, 2015). Appendices Table 3. Brands Comparative Analysis Source: Erste Group, 2015 Figure 1. The Brunello Cucinelli Magazine Advertisement Source: BrunelloCucinelli.com, 2015 Figure 2. Brunello Cuccinelli Organizational Chart Source: BrunelloCucinelli.com, 2015 References Aardewijn, S. (2015). [online] Kennisbank.hva.nl. Available at: http://kennisbank.hva.nl/document/220187 [Accessed 26 Oct. 2015]. Cucinelli, B., De Vico Fallani, M., Moser, C. and Castignani, S. (n.d.). Solomeo. Ind, N. (2007). Living the brand. London: Kogan Page. LaRocca, d. (2015). [online] Via.library.depaul.edu. Available at: http://via.library.depaul.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=jrbe [Accessed 26 Oct. 2015]. MacInnis, D., Park, C. and Priester, J. (2009). Handbook of brand relationships. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Massaboutique.eu, (2015). Brunello Cucinelli - History and curiosity of the Brand. [online] Available at: http://www.massaboutique.eu/the-brand/cucinelli/ [Accessed 26 Oct. 2015]. Plunkett, J. (2004). Plunketts retail industry almanac, 2004. Houston, Tex.: Plunkett Research. Rinaldi, F., Testa, S. and Rinaldi, L. (n.d.). The responsible fashion company. Schroeder, J., Salzer-Mo¨rling, M. and Askegaard, S. (2006). Brand culture. London: Routledge. Valenta, M. (2015). [online] Available at: http://company.wolford.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/2014-10-03-AT-CR-Wolford.pdf [Accessed 26 Oct. 2015]. Read More